Pregnant Woman Allegedly Attacked While At Walmart For An Interview

A pregnant woman named Paradice Russell alleges that she was recently attacked at a local Walmart in Saginaw, Michigan. On Sept. 14, the series of events reportedly unfolded while the 20-year-old mother-to-be was at the retail store for a job interview.

According to MLive, Russell explained that she’d arrived around noon to partake in the open interview process. However, her interview was ultimately postponed and rescheduled for the following day. As she was walking out of the store, things took an abrupt turn for the worst when she was allegedly assaulted. Russell claims she was approached by a woman and attacked over “an incident that occurred earlier in the year.”

During a recent interview, Russell recounted the series of events that led to her assault. She also shared details about her assailant. “I saw her there, but she had her baby, and she never said anything to me, and I never said anything to her,” Russell said. “As I was walking out of the store, she was walking back in. I was on my phone leaving the store.

“She just walked in front of me, and she attacked me, and she is bigger than me. She got me by my hair and got me on the ground and start dragging and punching me.”

Russell, who is said to be four months pregnant, insists she was only attempting to diffuse the altercation by pushing her attacker away because she needed to protect her unborn child. Although she initially thought some of the Walmart employees would intervene on her behalf, no one did. “I was trying to get her off me,” Russell said, “so I was kicking. It was a customer who broke it up.”

Walmart’s Senior Manager of Media Relations, Aaron Mullins, has also released a brief response to Russell’s allegations. While the incident did occur inside the store, the altercation was still considered a “police matter.” “If an incident happens like this in a store, that immediately becomes a police matter, and the police are called to handle that,” Mullins said.

The Walmart location has reportedly turned the surveillance footage over to the Saginaw Township Police Department as evidence for the investigation. According to the Saginaw Township, the incident has prompted the implementation of a new program called “Saginaw Township Police Department & Walmart Store #2644 Community Partnership Program.”

The program, which serves as a partnership between the police department and the Walmart branch, will reportedly increase safety for shoppers and decrease the possibility of shoplifting.

[Image via MLive Surveillance Footage Screen Capture]